America
spends a lot of money trying to fight the bad guys, you know, the American
bad guys. They are drug addicts, your kids, your friends, your wives,
your husbands, your school teachers, your movie stars, the good, the bad,
the underprivileged, the over privileged and all those who have no love
of self, country, or family. Our police are called on to make sense of
the nonsense of people’s insane lives as they mediate the never-ending
feuds of dysfunctional, loveless families. And no matter how our government
tries to fix things, it simply doesn’t work!!!!

We have made our police into the nannies of our sick, dark natures. Our
politicians have become our mothers, comforting and never holding anyone
accountable for anything. As our government officials console and create
dependency, a huge segment of our country is becoming impudent. All of
these are the ingredients of an explosive soup, and the good guys are
being thrown into the mix and stirred along.

Who is to blame for all of the drugs being purchased from American and
Mexican drug dealers? Why is it that the streets run with blood all around
our country where we have our own homegrown terrorists called gangs, but
the news media rarely utters a word about this? Our government, backed
by the media, spends most of its time keeping hard-working entrepreneurs
fighting for their businesses, pointing fingers and assigning blame while
keeping us distracted from the real truth about America—our broken
families.

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Your
kids are taking drugs, going to parties, lying to you—looking for
love in all the wrong places because they do not get it at home. They
look for acceptance in friends, gangs, and bad guys! Why is it that many
parents don’t know or don’t care where their kids are and
what they might be doing? Recently, the news stations reported that a
14-year-old girl took some nude photos of herself and e-mailed them to
her boyfriend. He in turn sent them to others and needless to say they
are everywhere and she is now looking at going to prison. This is the
perfect example of what has gone wrong with our entire country! WHERE
is the parents’ responsibility in all of this? Just 2 years ago
she was a twelve-year-old child, why would her parents give her a cell
phone and let her have a boyfriend? Why would her parents not know what
is going on their child’s life? When does responsibility for a child
end with a parent? I say never! I blame the majority of America’s
problems on dysfunctional, irresponsible parents! But is the problem way
too big for anyone to fix?

I believe that we can cure the virus that has spread throughout our country
by waking up America’s parents and holding them accountable for
their children’s actions. It will be an uphill battle because government
authorities do not want parents to be responsible and have made it possible
for them not to face their failed parenting skills; they want to blame
society’s problems on anything but the parents.

Now
is the time for parents to take America back by taking charge of our kids—always
know where your kids are; don’t hand them cell phones; make them
earn their own money; teach them that, as in business, freedom and success
are earned by being responsible and accountable; talk to them and set
boundaries; be aware of who their friends are; use reasonable punishment
and follow through, (I have found the best form of punishment is grounding
kids from friends and fun); share with them what is wrong with the world
to help them spot the bad guys and the cons; and always be patient and
not above reproach. Being a good parent can change the outcome of a child’s
life. All it takes is true love!

For the past
5 years, Dianne Linderman has been a nationally-syndicated talk show host
on Radio America with her live, call-in show, “Everything That Matters,
In Life, Business, Parenting and Cooking.

Meet Dianne Linderman:
A passionate speaker, award-winning author, teacher, counselor, publisher,
and serial entrepreneur who believes that simple dynamic parenting can
save our country’s kids! “Let’s teach our kids to be
entrepreneurial and help give them self-respect and self-reliance and
character!” Dianne’s unique, funny and natural personality,
innovative business ideas, parenting skills, and simple healthy cooking
segments are a hit with her listeners.

Over the past
30-plus years, Dianne, along with her husband and best friend, David has
worked as a counselor for troubled teenagers, owned her own restaurants,
built a multi-million dollar company, owned a dozen businesses, started
a publishing company, helped build a private school, raised two incredible
kids, and consulted for large companies. She has also written a series
of award-winning children’s books including, “How To Become
An Entrepreneurial Kid,” that promote financial literacy and entrepreneurial
skills and attitudes for readers of many ages in a time when economic
realities demand that kind of savvy and skill set.

Now she is about
to launch her own magazine, “Everything That Matters” to accompany
her nationally-syndicated radio show. Dianne
has appeared on national television, dozens of national radio talk shows,
and has been a speaker for the 2004 Republican Convention representing
entrepreneurial moms and women.

Dianne lives
in Oregon with her husband, David, and their two children, Luke age 14
and Alexandra age 12. Both children have their own businesses.